Wind turbines harness the power of wind flow to generate electricity. “Wind energy” as it is sometimes called, is clean energy, meaning that it is non-polluting and renewable. Industrial wind turbines are often grouped together as part of a wind farm, generating bulk electrical power for multiple consumers. Industrial wind turbines are quite large, reaching heights exceeding 300 feet. Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a simplified illustration of a wind turbine 100 that might be part of a wind farm, according to the known art. Air flow turns the blades 160 connected to a shaft (not shown) located in the hub 140. The shaft connects to a generator housed in the nacelle 120 to make electricity. An aerodynamically shaped nose cone 145 surrounds the hub 140. The nacelle 120 is supported by the tower 110. The height of a tower can be upwards of 200 feet.
Regular maintenance and repairs must be performed on the wind turbine 100, generally in the area of the hub 140. Potential injury exists when transporting tools and parts between the nacelle 120 and the nose cone 145, where the blades 160 are attached. Soft-sided tool bags are often used for hauling tools because they not only hold bulky tools but are collapsible, allowing for easier hauling of an empty tool bag up and down a latter structure within the tower 110 of the wind turbine 100. Currently technicians must make numerous transitions between the nacelle 120 and hub 140, using a tool bag to transport tools and parts weighing up to 50 lbs. FIG. 2 shows a worker carrying a tool bag 240 atop the wind turbine nacelle 120, walking on a path 224 along the nacelle 120 to reach the hub 140. The worker shown in FIG. 2 is wearing a harness 250 secured to a safety rail or guide rail 222 by a rope 226 for securing human movement atop the wind turbine nacelle. The safety rail 222 runs along the length of the nacelle 120.
The tool bags 240 cannot be loaded to the point where they become too heavy and unwieldy for one worker, thus limiting their load weight to what one worker can safely carry. Workers must make several trips up and down the wind turbine 100 and back and forth across the nacelle 120 to transport the necessary equipment.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a pie chart 300 with a breakdown of the top ten near miss/unsafe conditions recorded by event category during a one-year period in 2015 for a wind fleet manufacturer. As the pie chart 300 shows, five of the top ten events can occur during transitions: falling object; damaged/broken equipment; slip/trip/fall on level; slip/trip/fall from height; and tools. A transition is the movement from the nacelle 120 to the hub 140 which is accessed by personnel walking across the nose cone 145.
Many of the recorded injuries occur during the transition between the nacelle 120 and the hub 140. It is difficult, time-consuming and potentially unsafe to carry tools and parts from the nacelle 120 to the hub 140 because of the potential for a slip or fall when making numerous transitions from the nacelle 120 and hub 140. Currently, transporting tools and parts between the nacelle 120 and hub 140 requires making multiple difficult transitions.